My new variety of lily plant originated as a seedling which first flowered in Julianadorp, the Netherlands, in 1986. The breeding efforts had as their objective the production of large-flowered upfacing Asiatic hybrids in shades of yellow and orange, with attractive but small brush-marks, suited to forcing into flower out of season in a variety of climates, heretofore unknown in the lily breeding art.
I achieved the desired objective by intercrossing unnamed upright yellow and orange Asiatic seedlings which showed a variety of brush-mark patterns and which were also suited to forcing for year-round use as cut-flowers. The unnamed Asiatic seedlings which were the parents of `Yellow Grace` were produced by me, from a series of crosses among seedlings which were selected in my fields from large seedling populations of my own crosses. The original crosses came from material unique to my own breeding lines and not available in the trade. The field-selected seedlings were genetically very diverse, and 100 seedlings were selected for their outstanding vigor, stem length, non-fading yellow or orange flower color, attractive brush-marks, upfacing flower orientation, and well-spaced inflorescence. These were forced into flower under glass, and the 25 seedlings which showed the best forcing performance were then randomly intercrossed to produce a large quantity of seed. This seed was grown to flowering size, producing a large population of seedlings, from which the best 100 were again selected for vigor, stem length, non-fading yellow or orange flower color, attractive brush-marks, upfacing flower orientation, and well-spaced inflorescence. These were subsequently tested for their forcing performance, and `Yellow Grace` was selected as one of the yellow-flowering, lightly brush-marked seedlings best suited to forcing as a cut-flower.
The flowers of my new lily are characterized by an upfacing orientation, large size, exceptional substance, deep yellow coloration with attractively small brushmarks and inconspicuous spotting, narrow green nectary furrows with yellow pubescent margins, and a starry flower form with tepals only slightly overlapping, a combination unique among Asiatic hybrid lilies. The foliage is ascending, an advantage in packing the stems when `Yellow Grace` is forced as a commercial cut-flower, and the inflorescence is semi-umbellate. The variety possesses unusually tall, strong, stout stems. In addition, the clone possesses to a high degree desirable characteristics of hybrid vigor. The clone is a good grower and propagator, as observed in Julianadorp, the Netherlands.
My new variety of lily plant has been asexually reproduced by me and under my direction at Julianadorp, the Netherlands. Successive generations produced by natural propagation from bulblets, by bulb scale propagation, and by tissue culturing from bulb scale explants have demonstrated that the novel and distinctive characteristics of my new variety are fixed and hold true under asexual propatation from generation to generation.